Amazon's 1997 letter to shareholders

About this letter

Jeff Bezos, Amazon's founder and chief executive, wrote this letter for the company's 1997 annual report, the year Amazon went public in May. At the time it was chiefly an online bookseller, the market leader in that field, with a store Bezos says would fill six football fields if it were physical, and it was facing well-funded larger competitors moving online. The copy linked here is a reprint attached to his letter for 2000.

The letter sets out how the company intends to make decisions, then reviews 1997 under plain headings. Customer accounts grew from 180,000 to more than 1.5 million, staff from 158 to 614, and a second distribution centre opened in Delaware, with year-end cash of $125 million from the share offering and a loan. Bezos closes with goals for 1998, including adding music and serving customers overseas, and lists the risks ahead, from competition to the cost of expansion.

What to notice

1. 1

   Bezos reports 1.5 million customers and 838% revenue growth, yet calls it the first day for the internet and for Amazon.